Ex-WMU, Sturgis standout Zach Gentile bides his time on bench in minor leagues

Courtesy photoWorking for a berth: Zach Gentile, a Sturgis High School and Western Michigan University graduate, aims to reclaim his spot as starting second baseman for the Class High-A Salem Red Sox of the Carolina League.

SALEM, Va. — Zach Gentile’s role for the Salem Red Sox, a Class High-A team of the Carolina League, has been anything but
consistent this season.

The 24-year-old Sturgis High School and Western Michigan University graduate first engaged in a position battle for second
base. He earned and assumed the starting gig for more than a month.

But now Gentile has to patiently wait on the bench for the powers that be to call his number once again.

“At the start of the season, I knew after talking with the Red Sox front office and my manager that I would be splitting time
to start the season,” Gentile said. “There were no real top prospects, so to speak, at second base, which made it so that
the top performer would take the job.”

Gentile eventually took second base opportunistically when injuries ravaged the Boston Red Sox farm system and a teammate
and fellow second baseman was summoned up.

Zach Gentile

“I became the everyday starter — I played
something like 39 games in a row; it really felt amazing,” said
Gentile, who left WMU after his junior year to play for the
short-season Class-A Lowell Spinners and then two seasons with the
Greenville Drive. “I played from May 7 to the end of the first half of
the season.”

Out on the field regularly, the 5-foot-8, 165-pounder worked to prove himself a consistent player.

“I think it was noticed that I could play and that I could be consistent, and that’s really the type of player that I am,”
Gentile said. “My hitting wasn’t always where I wanted it to be. I went through a slump, something like 3-for-20, and that
will really hurt an average pretty bad.”

Much of that stint as a starter contributed to Gentile’s 55 hits and 13 RBIs on the year. Gentile is now batting .255, with
a .349 on base percentage. He has played in 68 games.

That “amazing” feeling he had would later turn to determination and a little frustration when the Red Sox brought in infielder
Alex Valdez, formerly of the Oakland Athletics and Washington Nationals, and wanted to see how the prospect would fare at
second base.

“Every day, we still hit batting practice
in the cage, and during every one of those opportunities you get, you
want to make sure you get your work in,” Gentile said. “Without getting
that extra time on the field, a lot of that other stuff is going to
push your body to stay in shape. It’s a matter of ‘Do I want to go out
and run extra because I’m not playing? Or go out and try harder?’”

Even on the bench during games, Gentile’s mind remains in starting mode.

“Learning pitchers is a big aspect of trying to stay in it,” he said. “When you’re sitting on the bench and watching things
unfold defensively, you kind of think to yourself ‘What’s happening?’ and ‘What’s going on?’ You can stay in it mentally,
and when you’re in a game, you’re less likely to draw a blank.”